Knitting machine



Jan. 14, 1930.

FIG: I. 176 4 Filed Feb. 17, 1923 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 all 74 l w 3L 56 l |mm|- fl v ,41 '5 v 1111 v l Z INVENTOR: Louz'a ND Jan.v 14, 1930.

L. N. D.\ WILLIAMS ,743,699

KNITTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 17, 1925 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG1 69 INVENTOR: Louis Hall/111mm;

-.' TTORNEYS.

Jan. 14, 1930. l... N. D. WILLIAMS KNITTING MACHINE v Filed Feb. 17. 1923 v 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR:

' BY M ATTORNEYS,

Louis mamzzmm 14, 1930. 1. N. D. WILLIAMS 1,743,699

KNITTING MACHINE 4 Filed Feb. 17, 192: 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG-1 II.

INVENTOR:

BY W

TTQRNEYS.

Loni/5 Mama/mm;

Patented Jan. 14, 1930 mates rone'rnrr or nnw-Yonxgn. so,

A CORZBORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS KNITTING MACHINE Application filed Feliruar y f7, 1923. Serial No. 619,600.

:u viun '1 I -j This invention relates generally to knitt1ngmach1nes, and more specificallytot-adjn-nctive mechanism of. a typesuseful in effecting transfer of the-pr0luct10fsuch machines to the-pointsof quill :bars 101' quill ringsias the case may be, so 'thatlthe fabric may, in turn,-=be transferred to other-machinery-for the per-formanceof further work upon it 1 r .Although my invention, in its broader aspects, is-capable of universal application .to knitting machines; special advantages e are derived by its usewit-h rotary stocking -knitters, and I have therefore herein -sh0WIl-- and described the same inconnection with such a machinew The-'main object of the present invention is toenab le all the operationsnecessary; or essential to the transfer of aknitted fabric from the needles of the producing-machine, to be effected: substantially. automatically, and to provide -1nechanisn1 whereby. these ends are accomplished-both rapidly. and

with precision, to the. absolute avoidance of stitch dropping-and without requiring any special skill on the partof the operative attending the machine."

A-further object of my invention is to secure the aforesaid desiderataina transfer means capable of being. applied to'standard forms of,- knittingmachines without requiring anychanges whateveriin theirinherent mode of action not inthe essentiahparts con.-

stituting the same.. a

Other objects and attendant advantages will become readily apparent from the :detailed description which follows of atypical embodiment of myinventioni- 1" In'the' drawings Fig. I. is a side elevation of a portion of an ordinaryautomatic;cir-

cular stocking knitting machine conveniently showing my invention.-

Fig. II 1s an end GlQVHtlOIIOf the viewed-from the left of Flg. I.

Fig. III is a similar illustration, viewed same as the machine.

from the right of I, showing more particularly the details of the auxiliary drive for theneedle cylinder comprehended bymy invention and, which functions after the knitting-has been completed for the purpose ofeffecting, transfer of-the fabric.

Fi'g.1 IV is a topzplan view, on a larger scale than the preceding figures, of the annular web holder head which carries the cams for operating said web holders. f

. Figs. V and-VIare views similar to Fig. IV with certain parts of the web holderactuatin v mechanism shifted to other positions from thoseshown in the latter figure. 'Fig. VII is an enlarged vertical sectional 'viewthrough a portion of the needle cylinder, illustrating the operation of certain special cams which prepare the needles-for reception of the transfer ring, also showing themannerin which'the latter isplaced on theneedles. v 5;, I

, Fig. VIII is a fragmentary sectional view showing a common. form of means whereby theknitting cams are iretractedrelative to the needles to permit needleleveling;

.Fig. IX is a perspective view of: one of.

the I specialelements associated 'with the pawlingmechanism for the pattern drum of Fig.-

is a side aforesaid showing the relation ofthe pawls thereto; 1?:- I p Fig. XI is a detail illustration, more or less diagrammatically represented, showing the mannerwin which the loops or stitches of the terminal course offthe knitted-web are enlarged through abnormal projection of the web'holders, to facilitate reception; of the quills. or points of gthe transferring.

F igs...XII and XIII are fragmentary ele vational views illustrating, indifferent positions, certain details. ofthe mechanism for actuatingfthel. yarn feed. preparatory to transfer. X 7

Figs. XIV and XV are further illustraview of the element I, II, and III of the drawings, it will be which the auxiliary cam scribed.

observed that the familiar parts of the knitting machine there shown include a needle cylinder 1 which is suitably mounted for rotation on a bed plate 2 supported by a frame comprehensively indicated by the numeral 3. Attached adjacent the top of the needle cylinder 1 is the usual head 4 for the web holders which cooperate with the needles in a well known manner during;

stitch formation. -The needle cam shell or ring represented at 5 comprises a 'sectiono'rblock 6 which carries the main knitting cams 7 'see Fig. VIII, and is retractible radially of the cylinder 1 for needle leveling, by virtue of being slidably mounted on the bedplate 2. 'This block 6.is provided with a lateral projection 8 slotted longitudinally for passage of a thrust bar 9 having a cam pro tuberance 10 which is designed to engage a roller pin 11 spanning the slot to withdraw the block 6 in opposition to a compression spring 12. This spring 12 tends to maintain the'block 6 in its normal forward or active position, one of its ends resting within a recess formed in a post 13 whereto the thread feed ring 14 is pivoted, said post being immovably secured to the bed plate 2 of the machine. The thrust bar 9 is suitably guided for longitudinal shifting, induced at proper times, by ridges or lugs 16 Fig. VIII on a cam drum 16, said cam drum operating-in an auxiliary capacity to the main or pattern drum shown at 17 and ordinarily control-- ling among other instrumentalities associated with the machine, the interchangeable thread feeds which for brevity of illustration have'been omitted from the drawings. The auxiliary cam drum 16 is rotated from the main cam drum 17 through the medium of an interposed gear train including spur wheels 18 and 19, see Fig III. -Associated' 'with the main cam drum 17 is a ratchet wheel 20 which, during the normal operation of the machine, is picked bya pawl 21. This pawl 21 is reciprocated by a double armed oscillating element 22 free on the shaft 23 upon 7 drum 16 is mounted, and is actuated by virtue of being coordinated through a link 24, with a crank 25 on a counter-shaft'26 suitably journalled in the frame 3. The shaft 26 receives motion from the main drive shaft 27 of the machine through gearing 28. In addition to the usual tight pulley (not shown) the shaft 27 carries a loose pulley 29 to which I relegate special functions which will hereinafter be de- The foregoing is of an introductory nature and will serve to distinguish between those parts whlch are standard or common in ordinary knitting machines from the mechanism comprehended by, and novel to my invention as set forth in the descriptive matter which follows.

The cam ring 5 is slotted for the reception and guidance of a cam 30, which. when raised to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. I, acts upon the butts of all the needles to elevate them to the latch clearing point, so that the stitches will be cast when the needles are subsequently drawn down during transfer. Fixedly mounted to the ring 5 directly adjacent the guide slot for the cam 30, is a cam 31 adapted to slightly depress some, preferably half the needles which have beenraised by the cam 30 to produce a line of demarcation which enables, through the guidance thus afforded, the proper application to the needles of a transfer device in the form of a ring such as shown and described in my Patent No. 1,348,195 of transfer ring, partly represented at 32 in Fig. VII of the drawings, is so constructed as will be noted from the patent, that those points or quills which engage. the first series of stitches can be folded over to register with the others, thus permitting the doubled loops to be subsequently joined by sewing in a machinesuch as shown and described inmy.

Patent No. 1,239,241 of September 4, 1917, in order to close the toe pocket of the stocking. This reasoning applies of course to the closing of the open mouth of any tube produced by the machine. A convenient way of dividingthe needles into two groups is to position the depressing cam 31 so as to act only upon those needles with long butts such as ordinarily extend half way about the cylinder in standard automatic seamless hosiery machines. The sorting action of the cam 31 is shown diagrammatically in Fig. I, and again in Fig. VII where the long butt needles are indicated at N and the short butts at a. Shifting of the cam 30 is controlled by a cam lug 33 on the inner periphery of the auxiliary cam drum 16, said cam acting upon a roller at the lower end of a rod 34 pivotally hung from one extremity of a lever 35 connected to the cam '30, said lever being mounted to swing about a fixed fulcrum 36 intermediate-its ends. A spring 37 (Fig. I) effective upon the rod 34, serves to maintain the roller 38 on the lower end of the latter, at all times in operative contact with the inner periphery of the auxiliary cam drum 16.

In the head 4 at the upper end of the needle cylinder 1 are radially. g ided the.

b. dder iidisit d et jE V 11 edditiee to a t n n h ir ata c' aa j fy f we?e' i e the i ker wel s ithe t m ne i cqu'rse QIE' stitches ripen the needles tb pree t hem f fet ei r ise du i g the vafion. enfe ll gefl"@Plbith web, holders as singers in a manner which enfp la'ined. The iyeb heldera 40 have the" $11211 nwa y p ei etin iitte 9 (F vl 'fi hhtefil e e age with-1' in a raceway in a cam ring 41 (if the head m n e m n epemm hi n 1291 h W 1191 1 ppe' 'ti 1 guiding di in the customary ngiannerl.- The -raceway in the cam ring 4,1 is intercepted the pre 'sent;

instance by'twb webhclder prcjectin'g cams 42 and 43, and a eb hblderretractin'g cam 44, as sho'wn in detail inFig sYIV, V and VI. Proj ectin 42 and 4'3 are radially' guided iii siuitable slcts in the cam ring 4 1 so t0 tree for moyement inwardly and outwardly therein t6 cperat-iye 'i ir0 "p.e'ra tive positions, the cani' 43 being alsj) susceptihle of independent mcyement the medium 9f an ilpwardly prqjecti ig pin 45 adapted to an inclined slctt6 in Swings Pl t aid P at ei p o ed t 4,8 and having its swinging mo yem ient' restricted by a pin 49. rejecting Lip thrqngh i a sl t "therein. i ormally the siyinging plate 4:? is retained inthe Qsitiqn shown in i IV y me s a l a s fih 1 h ct up a pi W d n rom aid plate, but by means hereinafter described,

the swinging plate 47 can he shiflied frcm the posit-ionshown ,t p that in Fig. VI in order toafiect ahngrmal inward'projection (if iyeb holders relative to the needles hen desired. As a 'means fer shifting the prpjectihg came 42 and s imnltaneoiisly fro'm' the positic ii shewn in Fig. IV tie that i in Fig. I prqvide a segmental slide an inclined or tangential slot operat ve ripen an 13pfstand ing pin .57 the projecting camjl2 in the manner similar to that described connecticn with the slot i fi ahdpin tS' fer m-Wadin 3 es 5 .5 1. 1 jecting thrqu'gh ,a rcuateslcts 55 in the segmenta l slide 53 serye .tb fer circumferential shifting on the ring 4 The Segmental ides'; ";menem mea against movement in the positig i shown in Fig. IV by means of a freely pivoted gravity catch'fi), such catch being notchedltq engage oneend of saidslide clearly shoyvn inEig. When it is desired tc'release the segmental slide 58 forishifting, this is effected by means pf a springtbngiie 6-1 v{lepeneling' at an inclinaticn "from link One end cf this linl; -62 is slotted fdr' guidance by the .pin :5 afcr ementinged, while its oppqsite extremity is pi 'votally' connected to one of a hell lqi anlj' leier jjiile'erxs sedl by; a semi x 2 1 he xi i y: ca n di uiii l 6"seeflfigs"fl and Disposed adj ee t he ik 2 li pe eli li k 68 he s e S t e at '5 for" g dan e by. the} pin 54! andits p pc site' extremity he b l l f lk eve 6 i he. fli i eke he 55 1 ik' lever. fiQfha 11min P ote y su pende fr m it othe arm hr t ed 70 a ap ed to be ua e y c m le s .1 Mid 72 lyi g n e pl neadi 'c n t0 he cam hi' 67q the arms 16: The'iinkes arrie a depepd hgp n h V '2h, d ties fi e dthr j of s id nk n a es hie p ei c ee' imi 4' of he, wing flz P t tI .'Ye wme th act of t e e -i i s '51 1 hr t he'q m w rd,

a se me l s de beinga his" t -n e" lcckechag'aiiist 'nibyemenfihy the catch hen, however, the catch 60 released; a dditicnal nigyement transmitted to the fby vi d t ate lei th of am 1 1 2 on em- 1mm; l 3 159 t e msi e Sl de 53 s ftsd to the"ffille$lextent, foithe pi'irpose f' witlid'rayyingit he ngaged alternately b a .A's' shqiwn t6 best adyantage in The he e Paws i ri ete t9 the franie 3 jot the'machine. Attached to the 78' is a shpe 8 0 which rdes an eccentric grceve' 81 in the M6 face 9f the e Hi s w j h e he fiflis a plied the latter, 'ccnstantvihi ating nc'vement is imparted to saidiarm. 'Nci'mal l Peri s 7 771 h ld i f -h Tre eb e activefpcsitibn, hows in" Fig. 111* of ;tlie drawings, hymeans 10f griard 82 cpferatiye at one 'end tdiengage "a 15in 83 prcjec'tin'g h p a i pr ii de l th e with 'a"1 i1g" 4 fc'i' 1i V19 7 The .g'iialrd 82 is ai'eferably tegraliae'rt Jof. shiit aiqie lever-e5"; H J uiacn' the fulcriirri (if the armi'Z'S FafOremaimed Fema e a e6 igo other onone. extremity of a link 87 which is secured to a rock shaft 88.journalled in a bearingfin the outer end of a fixed bracket arm 89, and it is acted upon by a spring 90 tending to depress it.

Secured to the rock shaft 88 is adownwardly-curved finger 91, which, through the action of the spring 90, is caused to bear upon the periphery of,

a disk 92 secured to the near endof the pattern drum 17 as viewed in Fig. III, said disk having cam lugs 93 and 94 which act upon the finger 91 to rock'the shaft 88 and the attached lever 85, thereby swinging the upper end of said lever 85 outwardly and thus withdrawing the guard 82 to permit thepawls 76, 77 to drop into engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 75. The ratchet wheel 75, thereby, serves to drive the shaft 27 and the needle cylinder 1, step by step, the movement thus. imparted to said cylinder 1 being comparatively slow so that it can be stopped without danger of being carried beyond a desired position by momentum.

.As an auxiliaryto the pawl 21 hereinbefore described as being operative upon the ratchet wheel 20 of the main cam drum 17 ,"I employ a pawl 95 adapted, at a certain predetermined time to be hereinafter specified, to engage special teeth 96, 96 of said ratchet wheel so that said cam drum 17 can be shifted while the pawl 21 is moving rear.- wardon its idle stroke. The pawl 95 iS.l)lV-,

oted to one arm of a swinging element 97 mounted for free movement upon the shaft 23 'of auxiliary cam drum 16at the outer side of the frame 3 of the machine. The element-97 hasa lateral extension 98, which terminates in an arcuate prolongation 99 in turn pivotally connected to the oscillating member 22 so as to derive motiontherefrom. A fixed guard 100 bolted or otherwise secured to a'convenient part of the frame 3 of the machine serves to confine activity of the pawl 95 .to the special. teeth 96, 96*

when the latter have been advanced into the province of the pawl through ordinary picking of the cam drum 17 by the pawl 21.

After -the knitting of the stocking is completed, it is important in order that transfer may be effected without danger ofstitch dropping, that the knitting thread be carried about the last needle fed, to a point within the circle of needles to prevent the loose end, resulting from severance of the.ya-rn, from being caughtby the hooks of the succeeding needles and there detained while the quill ring is being removed from the machine. I have accordingly devised a novelform of thread feed..together with appropriate actuating mechanism which will be best understood by reference to Figs. I to III and XII to XVI inclusive ofthe drawings. To a hanger (Fig. III) on the frame 3 of the machine is pivotallyconnected an upright bar 112, the, if

latter having therefore a constant vertical ICC IPIOCRtOIy movement imparted thereto during the time the belt is upon the loose pulley 29. The bar 112 has, at its upper end, alaterally projecting pin 113 which nor-' mally lies beyond a lever 114 fulcrumed for free rocking movement on the yarn guide ring 14 of the machine. The reciprocating bar 112 is normally held in the-position shown in Fig. I by a bifurcated engaging lug. 115 onaguide arm 116, mountedso as to be'free to swing on the rockshaft 110.. The tail 117 of the guide arm 116 is formed with a laterally pro ecting finger 118 adapted to bear upon the periphery of the auxiliary cam drum 16 as shown in Fig. I. This finger 118 is in line with a recess 119 in the drum periphery (see Fig. II) so that the tail 117 of the arm 116 is permitted to move at intervals in the direction of the arrow in Fig. I to release the bar 112 from control of the guide lug 115 and permit a coiled spring 120 to swing the upper end of the bar 112 inwardly so as to bring the lateral pin 113 into the range of the lever 114 and thereby depress said lever against the action of a leaf 1 spring 121, ig. XV). The lever 114 car ries a stud 122 on which is pivotally mounted a yarn feed lever 123 with a guide eye 124 in its free end. The normal position of the eye end 124 of the feed 123 is in front of the :needles'N, as shown in Fig. XIV, the lower end of the feed 123 then resting firmlyupon [a supporting plate 125 on the feed ring 14,21. spring 123 serving to retain it in this position. WVhen, however, the lever.

114 is depressed by the bar 112, the yarn? feed lever 123 is thrust through, the needles, N and carri'esthe ,yarntothe, inside of-the needle circle, asshown in Fig. XV and indotted lines 'in. Fig.. XVI where it is free v caught. in the hooks of the needles succeeding the last one'fed. I

from liability of bein Such cutting in between certain predetermined needles N, 01 1s facilitated by virtue curs at a time when the needlecylinder 1; is stationary as hereinafter noted.

Pivotally mounted at 126 upon the yarn guide ring 14 is a bell crank lever 127 which.

has, on one side, aprojecting lug 128 adapted, when the lever 114 is depressed, to be struck by a projecting pinj 129 on said lever,

the lever 127 belng then swung in the direcm of the sharp taper of the guide eye 124, seen I to the best advantage in Fig. XVI, and oc-f upper to the under surface ofthe same, as

shown in Fig. XIII. Theglug -128.then provents return of the lever llt and yarnfeed 123 from the position shown in Fig. XV to that shown in Fig. XIV until the lever 127 is carried away from a stop pin 131 projecting from an adjustable plate 132 when the ring 14 is swung upward in order to carry the yarn feed 123 away from the needles when it is desired to apply-the transfer ring tothelatter. As soon, therefore as thebell crank lever 1 27 clears the pin 131, the yarn feed 123 returns automatically to the normal position of Fig. XIV relative to the ring 14:, under the combined action of the springs 1 21'and 123 sc -as to be ready for action when the ring 14 islowered. c

The operation of the machine is as follows: I p

-After the machine has completed the stocking which itis designed to produce, the drive belt is automatically shifted from the tight to the loose pulley 29. This is efiected under control ofthe main cam drum 17 through interposed mechanism such as customarily provided in stocking knitters for this-purpose,-and which isoperativ e ina well known manner. The machine proper comes to rest as the pawl'21 completes alast retractive movementrelative to the ratchet wheel 20 without havingany eifect upon the latter. However, while this idleret-ractive movement of the pawl 21 takes place, the auxiliary pawl 95 is being advanced to engage the first special high tooth 96' of the main cam drum l7, thelatter having been progressed incidental to the normal operation of-themachine to bring said special high tooth 96-into engaging position. As a result of this action, themain cam drum 17 is advancedover that portion -thereof ordinarily allowed for the measuring of a certain number of loopers rounds (which.-are, in the present instance, dispensed with), 'When'the thrust bar 9 is raised to withdraw the knitting cam block 6 in a manner already explained. At the same time, the curved-finge 91 is engaged by the first lug 93 of the disk 92 (Fig. III)' with the result thatrthe lever 85 is thrust aside carrying with it the. guard 82'and "thus permitting the pawls 76 and 7 7 to become active upon the ratchet wheel 75.

'lVliile the conditions thus far-recited prevai l. tl1e position of the auxiliary cam drum 16, the latter having been progressed simultaneously {with the main cam Idrun1= 17 by virtue of theinterposed gear train-18,119 will be'as follows with regard tothe instrumentalities which it controls:

' The lower end 118 of the tail 11'?" offlthe and the vertically reciprocatory rod 112 being in ,pos ition for-engagingitsgpin 7113 with the lever 11 1 Figs. I, II and III; the in ternal cam lug :33 .engagingthe groller 38 at the:lower= end. of pull rod? 3 1, the.- elevating or stitch cam 30 in the raised positionshown in dotted lines in Fig. I; and the cam;lug 71 engaging-thethrust rod 70, and maintaining "the. swinging plate 47 ,pressed forward, as shown in Fig. VI, =with thesinker projecting cam 43 in .readinessto urge the sinkers or web holders 10 abnormally inward relative to'the needlesN.

As a consequenceofthese conditions, the first action to takeplace is the projectioniof the yarn feed .123 throughthe needles "N-vto the position illustrated indiig. XV as the rod1121nakes its initial descent. The timing of this mechanism is so. ordered thatthe projection of-the yarn.feed v1123 is accomplished in a substantially instantaneous manner and .at, the instant of dwell of the; needle cylinder l consequent upon-the first pick of the ratchet wheel,,7'5. The thread isthus brought to the 1 inside of the needle circle around the last needle fedysothatthe loose end resulting from severance, for which: the usual instrumentalities ordinarily provided for the;purpose.may beemployed, cannot possibly be caught by. the: hooks .of, succeeding. needles, nor be subsequentlynjammed ,between the transfer quills g. by the Web holders 10. 1 r

Continued stepwise rotation of; the; :needle cylinder 1 under; propulsion of the. ratchet wheel 75 results in theelevation of: all: the stitch ineedles by. the depressing cam 30, whilethe cam 31 cooperates to concurrently depress the long butt needles .N ,of ,the series for the purpose of demarcation as previously-noted. Also contemporaneously with the stepping. about-of the-needlecyL. inder 1, the sinker wales cw -of the last course i of stitches s 1 .held by the vneedles are urged back (upon the-web-asshown .in

the diagrammatic illustration ,of. Eig. XI 7 thereby affording enlargedv spacesflimmediately behind .the short butt needles ,n? for better-reception of the quills fg' of; the transfer ring32. Asa consequence of the rotation of itheiniainfdrive shaft 27 "thepawl 21 is maintained in activity so that upona complete revolution-of the needle cylinder 1, the main camdrum 17 has been advanced with the cam lug 93 positionedbeyond the curved finger 91 to prevent fu-rtherpi cking.

of the ratchet wheel .751by the pawls 76, 77 due to restoration of the pawl guard;82,to its normal or. active;- position. aTherenpon the machine comes to absolute-wrest except for idle oscillation- 0f the partsdirectly subject tothe eccentric; groove 81of;,the loose pulley. 2'9.

This cessation of action affords anopportunity for the. operativeflto the, yarn guidering 14 out of the way for the purpose L?" the thrust bar 9 to permit automatic restora- 4o of the segmental plate 53 as just noted is acgroups N, n, respectively, of said needles.

' After the placing of the transfer ring 32, as shown in Fig. VII, the machine is started by manual shipping of the driving belt to the tight pulley resulting in the release of I tion of the knitting cams 7Fig. VIII-to activity under the action of the spring 12, the movement of the main cam drum 17 being accompanied by corresponding progression of the auxiliary cam drum 16 resulting in the nullification of the various previously described settings of the instrumentalities controlled by the latter drum.

A 'turn or two of the needle cylinder 1 withthe knitting cams 7-7 active sufiices for the needles N, n to cast their stitches, when further advancement of the main cam drum 17 results in a second automatic shifting of the belt to the loose pulley 29. During such shifting, the auxiliary pawl engages the second high tooth 96 on the main cam drum 17 as a result of which the latter is shifted to cause the thrust bar 9 to again withdraw the knitting cams 7-7, these events occurring in precisely the same manner as in the previous instance. Likewise, the mutual progression of the auxiliary cam drum 16 results in the engagement of the cam 67 with the roller 66 of thrust rod 65 releasing the catch 60 through the shifting of the inclined spring tongue 61 of link 62 so that the segmental plate 53 (Fig. IV) is shifted to the position shown in Fig. V when the lug 72 encounters the thrust rod 70. The shifting companied by simultaneous retraction of the web holder projecting cams 42, 43. Thus in the course of subsequent stepwise rotation of the needle cylinder 1 under progression of the ratchet wheel 75, the web holders40 are withdrawn relative to the needles while said needles are leveled in the usual wayas a result of the retraction of the knitting cams 77. After the completion of a rotation or two, the curved finger 91 (Fig. III) drops off the cam lug 9a with cessation of all functional activity of the machine, when the transfer ring 32 may, with the stitches of the terminal courses of the knitted web impaled upon its points or quills g, be removed from the machine.

From the foregoing it will be obvious that transfer is, in accordance with my invention, effected in a substantially -automatic manner, except perhaps for the placing and removing of the transfer ring 32 and an incidental manual shifting of the drive belt, and that the operation can be effected without requiring any special skill on the part of the operative. I

Having thus described myv invention, I

claim:

1. The combination in a knitting machine,

of means for bringing the needles to latch clearingposition and at the same time of leveling them with certain needles slightly beyond others for purpose of demarcation to facilitate application of a transfer device, in definite relation, to the needles.

2. The combination in a knitting machine, of means for leveling the needles with certain needles slightly beyond others for the purpose of demarcation to facilitate application of a transfer device, in definite relation, to the needles.

3. The combination in a knitting machine, of a pair of associated cams, adapted for operation' upon the withdrawal of the knitting cams, one efiective upon all the needles to move them to a predetermined position, and

the other only upon certain of the needles for retracting them slightly with respect to the others for the purpose of demarcation in leveling to facilitate application of a transfer device, in definite relation to the needles.

4. The combination in a knitting machine having long and short butt needles, of a cam operative upon all the needles to move them to a predetermined position, and an associated cam operative only on the long butt needles of the series to retract them slightly for the purposes of distinction in the level of the two groups to facilitate application of a transfer device in definite relation to means cooperative with said cam drum to effect substantially instantaneous withdrawal of the yarn feedfrom activity at said dwell periods.

6. In a knitting machine with transfer mechanism, the combination of a yarn feed, a needle cylinder, a cam ring, means for imparting slow relative rotation to the cylinder and the cam ring in connection with a transfer operation with dwell periods in such rotation, a cam having special high teeth for controlling said mechanism, a main pawl for normally progressing the cam drum, and an auxiliary pawl cooperative with the special high teeth during certain retractive strokes of the main pawl to effect substantially instantaneous withdrawal of the yarn feed from activity at said dwell periods in preparation for transfer.

rare-at c 7:. In a kn t n mach ne fih. tran fer m chani m an a: yarmf ed t ec m ie i of a cam drum with a pgrtioniof itssnrface devoted to control. the knitting instrumentalities of themachine during the transfer "period, a main pawl for effecting normal progression of the drum and an auxiliary pawl cooperative with special high teeth on the cam drum to progress the aforesaid portion of the latter and effect substantially instantaneous withdrawal of the yarn feed from activity in preparation for transfer.

8. In a knitting machine with transfer mechanism, the combination of a yarn feed, a needle cylinder, a cam ring, means for imparting slow relative rotation to the cylinder and the cam ring in connection with a transfer operation with dwell periods in such rotation, a cam drum with a portion of its surface devoted to control the knitting instrumentalities of the machine during the transfer period, a main pawl for normally progressing the drum, and an auxiliary pawl adapted to progress the aforesaid portion of the cam drum during idle retrac'tive'movements of the main pawl whereby substantially instantaneous withdrawal of the yarn feed from activity at said dwell periods is effected in preparation for transfer.

9. In a knitting machine the combination of a main drive mechanism for rotating the drive shaft during the knitting periods, and an auxiliary drive mechanism for driving the shaft during a period of web transfer including a ratchet wheel secured to said shaft, and means coordinated with the loose pulley of the machine for progressing the ratchet.

10. In a knitting machine the combination of a main drive mechanism for rotating the drive shaft during the knitting periods, and an auxiliary drive mechanism for driving the shaft during a period of web transfer including a ratchet wheel secured to said shaft, a pawl, a swinging arm carrying the pawl, and an eccentric on the loose pulley of the machine for oscillating said arm.

11. In a knitting machine the combination of a main drive mechanism for rotating the drive shaft during the knitting periods, and an auxiliary drive mechanism for driving the shaft during a period of Web transfer including a ratchet wheel secured to said shaft, pawling means coordinated with the loose pulley of the machine for progressing the ratchet, and means governed by the pattern drum for controlling the active periods of the pawling means;

12. In a knitting machine, the combination of needles, web holders, web holder projectmg cam, and means for shifting said cam in inducing an abnormal thrust of the web holders to enlarge the stitches of the terminal course of the knitted web and thereby facilitate subsequent introduction of the quills of a transfer device thereinto.

a meat W5 10ml d fi in; m i

aidcam 1 ii diioing ah b" thefweb holders to enl i, he terminal, er ant ikii t d we a thereby facilitat 1 1mg efiipii time 1 i of a transfer device, the'r Ii u qa tlrret e 1 leasethewebt U I 4- nir a i t n's m hine." xapnr i s i e lta aQbLh 1 projecting cam on nor althrflf' jt hii y sa ;p eje tingfi mzififia [pe m tting recession :of flebiliol'de'rs'for the meate nee. device, including in ers, web holder? trolling: 6, f holding the'fslide agai st s Pla e r ti sbyf e theot herofsaidjiianis, th'riis'tj to lmpart movemen the iiingmat' and also ,to' the sliding platewhenreleased byAthej 19,011.. A I -"Aknitt a tating transferfo if I A needles.'tl erl eof,- to t lie lgiiills of"'a1','t r n dev ce, includingin eei ifiatidajweb 561ds, ettpiaer pro; snag'tiifis;fai11af6i1- t in ens l k in y llql llllgi ar [,slidejagamst gaiqvfem'm, a swinging plate earned by" 'the slideland recoi e l a zt a tter etea ate ns; ithrt tb g Pa a ei fib ttelthe lw i s-i mg plate nd dbar'Yfor, actuatingithe I15 et to re 's 1 913 631 fiist'i t ,p I I "I aii'eoiisl movmnt with the swiiig figfplate 1, 1s. "l he." combintit gin. ,i ga Eiiafit Ella- 2 chine, 0,;i aging,n disgana: lya niifd" capable of being tbnbrmau thrust i radiy hm 'g tthe l ed e lsiestal e t e r i'e ea iihg chine, of a needle cylinder, a yarn feed, means for intermittently rotating the needle cylinder after completion of the knitting to prepare the knitting instrumentalities' for transfer of the knitted 'Web, and means for abnormally thrusting the feed radially through the needles during a quiescent period of the'needle cylinder to prevent further feeding of the yarn,

20. In a knitting machine the combination of needles a yarn feed shiftable to inactive position to'dra'w the loose end of the yarn remaining after severance back of the needles to prevent its being caught by the needle hooks and stripping the stitches from the quills of a transfer device during removal of the fabric from the machine, and instrumentalities for actuating'the feed as aforesaid'including a lever, a reciprocating member, and timecontrolled means for moving the reciprocating member into the province of the lever to shift the feed at the completion of a knitting operation.

21. In a knitting machine the combination of a main drive mechanism for rotating the drive shaft during the knitting periods,

and an auxiliary mechanism for driving the shaft during the period of web transfer actuated by the loose pulley of the machine.

'22. In a knitting machine the combination of a main drive mechanism for rotating the drive shaft during the knitting periods, an auxiliary drive mechanism for driving theshaft during the period of web transfer comprising a ratchet wheel operatively connected with said shaft, and means coordinated with the loose pulley of the machine for progressing the ratchet wheel.

23. In a knitting machine the combination of a main drive mechanism for rotating'the drive shaft during the knitting periods, an

auxiliary drive mechanism for driving the shaft during the period of web transfer comprising a ratchet wheel operatively connected to said shaft, and a pawl with oscillating means actuated from the loose pulley of the machine for activating said ratchet wheel.

24. In a knitting machine the combination of a main drive mechanism for rotating the drive shaft during the knitting periods, an

auxiliary drive mechanism for driving the shaft during the period of web transfer actuated by the loose pulley. of the' machine, and means governed bythe pattern drum for connectingsaid auxiliary drive mechanis ii to said shaft. V 25.- In a knitting machine the combination of amain drive mechanism for-rotating the at). drive shaft during the knitting periods, an

' auxiliary drive mechanism for driving the shaft during the period of web transfer and including a ratchet wheel operatively'connected to said shaft, means coordinated with the" loose pulley of the machinefor progress- 

